Report Number: 25031
Reporting
Year: 2002
Permit Number: CRLA-2002-SCI-0001
Current Status: Checked in
Date Received: May 07, 2003
Principal Investigator:
Steven Cliff,
Department of Applied Science,
University of California,
Davis, CA
Additional investigator(s):
Dr. Thomas A. Cahill,
Kevin D. Perry, Peter B. Kelly
Park-assigned Study Id. #:
CRLA-01010
Permit Expiration
Date:
Dec 31, 2002
Permit Start Date:
Apr 15, 2002
Study Starting
Date:
Apr 15, 2002
Study Ending Date:
Dec 31, 2005
Study
Status:
Continuing
Activity Type:
Research
Subject/Discipline:
Air Quality
Objectives:
New perspectives on the "global" nature of
Earth's atmosphere.
Research has shown that it is, indeed, "one
atmosphere" that envelopes and supports life
on Earth. Over the past two decades, studies
of the global dissemination of manmade
pollution have centered on the emissions of
long-lived gases and particles that
influence global and regional climate. More
recently, a new focus is emerging that
recognizes that the chemical properties of
shorter-lived manmade pollutants can have
intercontinental and global influence.
How does the transport of chemicals from one
continent influence the air quality in other
continents, as well as regional and global
climate?
The Intercontinental Transport and Chemical
Transformation (ITCT) is a coordinated
international research program to address
this question. Its foci are:
(i) to investigate intercontinental
transport of manmade pollution, with an
emphasis on ozone, fine particles, and other
chemically active "greenhouse" compounds
(ii) to determine the chemical
transformation that occurs during this
transport.
There is increasing evidence that ozone and
fine particles and their precursors, even
compounds with reasonably short lifetimes,
can be detected at great distances from
their sources. The "intercontinental" nature
of manmade chemical pollution has been
demonstrated in studies over the last
decade. ITCT will further the scientific
understanding of the consequences - both for
air quality and for climate - of this
intercontinental transport and
transformation. Investigations will
initially focus on the Northern Hemisphere,
which contains most of the world's
landmasses and population, and where most
anthropogenic pollution originates.
The International and NOAA Frameworks for
ITCT
ITCT is a newly initiated activity of the
International Global Atmospheric Chemistry
(IGAC) program, which is a Core Project of
the International Geosphere-Biosphere
Programme (IGBP). ITCT combines two earlier
IGAC activities: the North Atlantic Regional
Experiment (NARE) and the East Asian/North
Pacific Regional Experiment (APARE). While
the bulk of the ground studies will be
conducted at Trinidad Head in Northern
California, additional sites are needed to
fully understand the context of long-range
pollution transport at the intensive site.
Therefore, additional sampling sites are
proposed to better characterize the extent
and nature of long-range pollution transport
events. Crater Lake NP is one such site
proposed for this experiment.
Why Crater Lake?
Crater Lake is an excellent site to observe
transport across the northern Pacific. It
sits atop the Cascade crest with an
unobstructed fetch to the Pacific,
experiences consistent westerly winds, and
the local area is heavily forested, reducing
the likelihood of any persistent local dust
source. Furthermore, there are few urban or
industrial emission sources in the lowlands
separating it from the Pacific. Sitting at
an elevation of 3078 meters, Crater Lake is
well above the persistent surface inversion
over the eastern Pacific, and is in the
heart of the mid-troposphere "transport
layer" in which aerosols are easily carried
very long distances. Asian dust has been
detected at Crater Lake, most notably in the
great "Yellow Sand" event of April 1998, and
statistical analysis of the entire IMPROVE
record there suggests that Asian transport
to Crater Lake is common from February to
November. In order to set-up a 3-DRUM at
Crater Lake, we would like an outlet for
power and some place to set-up the sampler.
The ITCT experiment is slated to start on
April 15, 2002 (through May 31, 2002) so we
would greatly appreciate any help to get set
up as soon as possible. Notification of
participation and funding delays have
prevented earlier request for the Crater
Lake site inclusion for this study.
Findings and Status: A
3-DRUM sampler
(http://delta.ucdavis.edu/technology) was
installed at Crater Lake co-located with the
existing IMPROVE site. Air sampling
commenced April 15, 2003 though May 28,
2002. While analysis of the resultant data
is ongoing, preliminary results indicate a
ubiquitous source of Asian derived
atmospheric aerosol (dust and anthropogenic
pollution) in the Western US. While it has
long been known that transport of Asian
aerosol to the US, including Crater Lake,
occurs each spring, it has been assumed that
these are special events. Our findings
indicate that the Asian source accounts for
most of the background aerosol observed
during the Spring and possibly year round in
the Western united States. Continued
seasonal sampling and analysis is planned
through at least 2005 to better quantify and
understand these findings. The global
climate implications of such aerosol
chemistry are significant and future work
aims to quantify climactic impacts.
For
this study, were one or more specimens collected and
removed from the park but not destroyed during
analyses?
No
Funding provided
this reporting year by NPS:
0
Funding provided
this reporting year by other sources:
95000
Full name of
college or university: n/a
Annual funding
provided by NPS to university or college this
reporting year:
0
